FYI to those who wanted to know about the character trait wall discussed in previous post. I got tired of punishing last year. So this year, I choose to put the punishment/rewards into my kids hands. It was up to them to earn their reward. And this can be seen as a punishment too when they don’t get the reward! My boys have a desk that is up against a wall. Right above their desks are their own word cards. They are stuck on the wall using the sticky putty that hangs up posters and stuff. The cards are actually shaped like bees. We call them our bee-haviour bees. I purchased these at a school supply store eons ago!! This was when I was going to teach HS like “real school” LOL! I think they may use them on bullentin boards. Anyway, any card will do!
These are the ones we have up at this time. I am thinking to add more once we study the trait.
Obedient the first time ( I have “first time” because I don’t consider obeying the second or third time as obedient!)
I was truthful.
I showed kindness to my brother
I had a joyful heart.
I showed manners
I was helpful today.
I was a good listener. ( or attentive)
I was patient
I had self control.
I showed cleanliness (or orderness)
I showed thankfulness.
I was a good helper.
I did my best!
I think these are all of them for now!! It was amazing how this worked in the beginning of the school year!!! It will still work when we do it everyday! LOL! I admit I have slacked off because the boys started to realize they did not want their “bees” taken away! So they started being a lot better with things. But, occasionally we will have attitudes flare up, and then I forget about them!! So, when we first started using them this is what would happen. Say one of them started complaining about not wanting to do copywork. I would say, Do you think you are having a good attitude? Then he would answer, No. I would say, Then you need to remove your bee from the wall. Then tell me how you can change your attitude. At first I thought, maybe this won’t work because it sounds so simple. But for my boys (who can be very stubborn) it worked! They really did not want to remove their bee from the wall. Then after a few days they knew the routine. They realized when they complained they would have to remove a bee. So, I was amazed when after a while they would do or not do whatever and say, I know, I have to go take a bee off!! This was without me saying anything! They were admitting to whatever they didn’t do or did do, and removing ther bees on their own!! Amazing!
We would talk about what happened and what reaction they should have had etc.. Then at the end of school if at least 2 bees were taken away then they could not do something special. If only 1 bee was taken away, they could still do something. I thought about having the rules be you can do “blank” when you have NO bees taken away. But, I realized that I was wanting to show a little grace! As time goes on, then I might change and be stricter! The rewards can be anything that your kids just LOVE to do and would hate to lose! I also don’t allow them to choose the same reward everyday. (usually up to 3 times) I don’t want the reward to be on the computer everyday. That is nothing special after a while!
At the end of the week you can count up bees that were lost during the week. I count them daily for each boy. If the number is low -you choose however many- then you could have an extra special something planned! This will encourage the kids to work together. They can root for each other to try do better etc..
I hope this makes since! Have fun!
